Maine Maritime Academy’s century-old schooner, the Bowdoin, will depart Boothbay Harbor on Wednesday for its first trip to the Arctic in 16 years.
The scientific voyage, which will last six weeks and take the crew of 16 from Maine to Newfoundland to Greenland, will give the 10 students onboard experience in sailing and allow them to collect information on the ocean’s salinity and temperature, as well as biological data, said Captain Alexander Peacock, the master of the schooner.
The students are looking to find “rivers” of water in the ocean that are mixing from all over the world, Peacock said. The students will then overlay their data with records collected on another expedition the Bowdoin took over a century ago.
“The whole theme of the voyage is discovery and experiential education,” he said.
The 5,000 nautical-mile trip will follow a similar path as the Bowdoin took on its first voyage, completed by Donald MacMillan in 1921. The ship made 26 voyages to the Arctic between 1921 and 1954, and then two more since Maine Maritime Academy purchased the vessel in 1988.
Maine Maritime Academy hosted an event on Tuesday to celebrate the vessel’s departure with students from Boothbay Region Elementary School. The students learned about the schooner and the voyage, and they played games that instructed them how to tie knots and cast rope, said Principal Shawna Kurr.
Kurr said the field trip was a historical learning opportunity for the students.
“While knot tying and rope throwing might not be part of the curriculum, these are the days that the kids are going to remember,” she said.
The Bowdoin’s first mate, David Stolz, was teaching some of the elementary school students about the ship at Tuesday’s event. He’s been professionally sailing since 2016, after becoming interested during a childhood tour of some tall ships that came through Cleveland, Ohio, where he lives.
“There was this kid earlier today, he was like, ‘So can I do this someday?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes you can,’” Stolz said.
Sailing on a century-old, sail-powered vessel all the way to the Arctic has its challenges, Stolz said. Preparation has taken months, including training the shiphands, making sure the hull is sound and stocking up on provisions.
But Peacock said having sails means the ship will have more range. Plus, he said, it’s important to keep the history alive.
“She knows the way,” he said.
MMA received a $50,000 grant from L.L. Bean for the voyage, which helped with food, gear and crew costs, said Kate Noel, vice president of student affairs and college relations. It offsets about a quarter of the vessel’s operating costs.
